


Aster

by arminblossom (syrren)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-14
Updated: 2014-01-14
Packaged: 2018-01-08 17:21:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1135375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syrren/pseuds/arminblossom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Series of prompts I've received, mostly concerning relationships involving Armin Arlert. Drabbles range from anything to dark!Armin featuring homicide to fluff and meaningful romance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fate & Soul Mates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble was originally placed on my other drabble series, [Not the Same](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1054613/chapters/2111557), but since it was specifically requested I felt it shouldn't be categorized with the other drabbles I owed.  
> I accept requests for drabbles so if you like my writing style I have a [Tumblr account](http://szyntera.tumblr.com/) set up and my inbox is open. I also placed other information (such as my other fandoms) on that account.
> 
> The below drabble was based off of a scene from 500 Days of Summer. You can find the original scene [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNEkwcY7OI0).

                “Armin, where the hell are you taking me?  _Ikea_??? Are you serious right now??” Eren laughed, tripping as he ran after the blond boy.

                And here we meet the two main characters of this story. The blond boy in front, Armin Arlelt, grew up believing that someday he would see the wonders of the world, travel the globe, and never settle down. As he grew older he realised that the most excitement he would find in his current position would only be in his imagination. Instead, he found his soul mate, gave up his dreams to travel the world, and settled down.

                The brunet tagging along, Eren Jaeger, grew up believing that someday he would lead the very opposite life of Armin’s dreams. He figured he would brave the world labelled ‘reality’ by his parents, make the best of the business world, maybe even try to change society for the better a bit. This was a boy who had a lot of passion, but no motivation to use it, until he met Armin that is. Unlike how he imagined, Eren now led a life of upmost excitement thanks to the other, his soul mate.

                Armin met Eren on his birthday while searching the bookstore. He was specifically looking for the language section but ended up in the economics section in his haste. Once bumping into him, Armin knew that he wanted to make the world worth living in for Eren.

                This is a story of boy meets boy. You should know up front, this is a love story.

                “Yeah, come on, snail!” Armin called, tugging Eren into the furniture store. He stopped in front of one of the displays and turned to Eren, breathless and his blue eyes bright. “Just follow my lead.”

                Armin swiftly slipped into a nearby set up, one showing a lounge complete with wide screen TV, a grey couch and matching armchairs, and a foosball table. He approached the table, putting on the airs of a frat boy as he grabbed the nearest handle and pushed it in, gracefully. Eren hung back, confused for a minute as Armin acted through the scene, but soon gained a similar mock personality and spun one of the handles of the table gracefully.

                “Oh, Eren, I truly cannot wait until our luncheon next Saturday. I’m sure our teammates on the badminton team will love a rousing game of foosball,” Armin commented eloquently.

                “Hm, quite, I just hope no one creates too much of a ruckus,” Eren responded. He leaned to the side and coughed, sneaking Jean’s name under his breath as he did so, causing the two to try and hold in their giggles.

                “Well we are all gentlemen of a high class, I’m sure we can all behave even if there is a good bottle of wine present.” Armin closed his eyes, raising an eyebrow. “Of course, we might need to keep our dear friend Jean in the stables with the other horses.”

                Eren swallowed back laughter and observed, “I was thinking it over, Armin, and I fear our formal party could not possibly be a suitable place for a foosball table, even if it is with our best cronies.”

                “Oh you’re incredibly correct, Eren, but that is no problem because we can simply hold a casual fling in the living room instead.” The blond pulled the brunet into the next display, a small area adorned with a coffee table, two loveseats, and a tan couch with cushions one could easily sink into. Eren tugged Armin onto the couch so that the blond was resting his head on the brunet’s shoulder.

                “This is much better, nice and comfy after a long day,” the taller boy sighed, leaning back into the cushion.

                “That may be so but I know an even better place to rest after a busy day,” Armin declared. He stood up, holding onto Eren’s hand as he skipped towards one of the bedroom sets. This one was simply a dark wood nightstand and a matching bed dressed with crimson sheets. He flung himself on to the bed, his head resting on the pillow. Eren followed suit, leaning over the blond with a soft smile.

                “I don’t know how to tell you this,” he started quietly, his gaze set on Armin’s bright blue eyes. “But I love you.”

                “Eren… I love you, too,” the blond responded gently, beaming. Armin sat up a little and kissed the brunet.

                It took a long time but Eren and Armin finally learned. There are such things as miracles. There is such a thing as fate. Two people could be soul mates. They knew. They were sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment by the person this was written for:
> 
> "wow oh my god, I'm speechless. that was done much faster than I thought it would be, the few times I've prompted other writers its taken them like a week! also I snickered really loudly at that jean joke, it annoyed my mum in the next room, one of the best I've heard. also ohmygodthiswassupercutethankyousomuchyou'rethebest!!!!!!!!"


	2. Sacrifice and Survive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Eremin  
> Triggers: violence  
> Featuring Dark!Armin and Eren as the victim.

“Are they coming?” Eren asked, trying to peer around the blond.

 Armin pushed him back and glared at him. “Stay back, will you? If they see you, we’re both dead! Just stay behind me.”

“But you haven’t even told me what’s going on!” Eren protested, his high pitched voice earning a smack from Armin.

The blond shut the door softly and pulled the brunet towards the back of the small room. He put a finger to his lips to signal the taller boy to be quiet and sighed. He whispered, “Listen, we need to stay quiet. You know that court order that got a bit postponed on what the military is going to do to you? It was held today, without you. They didn’t want the same interruptions as last time so it was only the Scouting Legion and Military Police present. Only… it took a rather bleak turn.

“Commander Erwin, he did all he could, but he ended up breaking the law to carry out whatever he was planning. And the Military Police found out and used it against him. I believe it had to do with him blackmailing someone very important within the nobility. In any case, it tarred the credibility of the Legion pretty badly.”

“So what’s going to happen to me?” Eren interjected.

 “I don’t know,” Armin deadpanned, though he knew perfectly well what was going to happen.

“Quiet for a moment. I’m not finished. Anyway, the Military Police were able to persuade the judge into have the commander and others questioned for the blackmailing. And, with them in jail, there was no one to represent your side of the case. Eren, you have to understand, most people want the Scouting Legion abolished. And with the commander now charged with the possibility of threatening someone of the nobility, the path is cleared to abolish it completely. As for the commander, Levi Heichou, Squad Leader Hanji… they’re arrested, Eren, the government can do anything that the victim of Erwin’s mission wills.

“And as for you… you’re in the Military Police’s hands now,” Armin gave a sarcastic laugh. He stepped closer to Eren, placing his hands on the taller boy’s shoulders. Meeting Eren’s hazel eyes, he smiled sadly. “Eren, the Military Police will do horrible things to you, as I am sure you are aware. They shall do everything in their power to make sure you have a most painful death, dragging answers out of you as they do so. At this rate, you’ll probably have a more painful death than Pastor Nick.

“With this in mind, I’ve received one last order from Commander Erwin before he was arrested.” He paused.

“What? What order? Armin, what are you talking about?” Eren pressed, his voice rising in desperation as Armin looked away.

“Unfortunately, Eren, I have been given most grim orders. You see, we can’t save you anymore, not without the Scouting Legion and Commander Erwin having such a torn reputation. There is…no other option for you. And if the Police get you, humanity may even be worse off. Which is why we’ve decided on what to do with you.”

“And you? Please tell me that whatever you’re doing, you’re coming with me. Armin?”

The strategist took his time in answering, then finally said, “As I said, I have grim news. This is where our paths split, my good friend. And trust me, I hate to do this.”

 Footsteps were heard running down the hall and within minutes light flooded the dark room as two soldiers clad in Military Police jackets stood at the threshold, waiting.

Eren stepped back as Armin stepped forward, approaching the brunet with cold eyes. Taking the brunet by surprise, he grabbed Eren’s shirt collar and yanked him forward. Slipping a blade from his harness, he pressed it to Eren’s throat, baring his teeth. “You’ve caused us a lot of trouble, Eren, but not anymore.”

Grunting, the blond thrust the metal through Eren’s heart, twisting the blade as he did so. The brunet fell to his knees, blood quickly staining his shirt. Armin kneeled next to him and forced him face down on the ground, slicing off the flesh of the nape of his neck as he did so. When he was sure Eren was dead, he stood back up and slid the blade back into the harness, not bothering to wipe off the blood.

Carefully, he stepped over the corpse and joined the Military Police.

“Sorry, Eren, but in a world where humanity is failing, I have to make some sacrifices to survive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Compliments by person for whom this drabble was written for:
> 
> "You're something special you know that."


	3. Aster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Bertholdt x Armin (Beraru)

He was stuck in this unbearable state between nervousness and confidence. Nervousness, because this was his first time confiding his feelings to someone. Confidence, because he knew exactly what to say and that he could win anyone over with his words.

There was also a fine trace of doubt and fear. He had endured a lot lately, from having a good friend, Marco, perish, to almost losing his best friend, Eren. It seemed to him that very few people were safe anymore; he even had doubts if he would survive another year. But he liked to believe Bertholdt would stay by his side for a while yet. Annie may have shown herself to be a traitor, but there was no way Bertholdt could be a traitor too. The tall soldier was far too kind and understanding to be a traitor.

No, Bertholdt was safe.

But there was also the fear that the brunet would not reciprocate Armin’s feelings. Very few captured the blond’s attention for long. He was always searching for new information. Bertholdt, however, had been able to stay a constant, being as much a book lover as he was. They could spend hours together, reading in silence, comfortable in each other’s companionship. And if Bertl didn’t share in the blond’s feelings, then that could risk their friendship.

Armin shook his head, trying to clear his mind. “No, Bertl isn’t like that. He wouldn’t leave me because of this,” he reprimanded himself under his breath.

He had had dozens of ideas on how to confess to Bertholdt his feelings. Not many people realised how much of a perfectionist he was, of how often he would rethink situations like this, trying to track down every little factor that could go wrong. Sure, he was naturally quick at forming complex plans within seconds, but that didn’t mean he had no desire to double and triple check, smoothing out the rough patches. And so he had spent days thinking over this plan, perfecting every little part, because this had to be perfect. Bertholdt deserved that much for being such a good friend to Armin.

The blond took a deep breath, calming himself as he pushed through the heavy door and into the library. He scanned the library quickly with bright blue eyes, soon spotting the tall brunet. Sitting in front of the window at one of the numerous wooden tables, Bertholdt leaned over a couple of books and papers, scribbling away notes every once in a while. Shutting the door behind him, Armin joined him, sitting across from him.

 “Hey, Bertl,” the strategist smiled.

“Oh, hey, Armin. I found another book on that  _ocean_ you told me about,” Bertholdt informed him, sliding a leather bound book across the table. The blond peered down at the page but then snapped himself to attention. This wasn’t the time to be distracted by something he could read later. He looked back up at the brunet.

“Bertholdt?” Armin called quietly.

 “Hm?” the brunet met Armin’s eyes, raising his eyebrows.

Before saying anything, the blond held out a lavender aster to the taller boy. “I’m not the best person at this kind of thing, I must admit. But, you see, I want to tell you that I’ve enjoyed having you as a friend. Only, I’m afraid I’ve been wondering often if we could ever be more than friends.”

Bertholdt took the flower in his fingers, careful not to damage any of the pale petals. “More than friends?”

“Well, yes, I just find you to be so interesting and kind and such a great person and—“

“You’re as nervous as I am,” Bertholdt said quietly, placing a hand on Armin’s so that would stop rambling. The brunet studied Armin for a second, noticing his blush. “You’re usually so calm with words. But now you’re flustered. That’s all right, I’d feel the same if I were you.”

He paused, considering what Armin had said earlier.

“I know I’d feel nervous, because I’ve thought about telling you how I feel. I was just caught off guard for a second, but I have an answer for you. I want to be more than friends, too, Armin. I’ve wanted to be in a relationship with you for a while now actually.” He smiled, coming out to be the calm one.

After registering what he had said, Armin turned his hand over to clasp Bertholdt’s.

“By the way, thanks for the flower.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment by person for whom this drabble was written:
> 
> "I CANNOT. SCREAMS FOR TEN YEARS."
> 
> The aster flower symbolizes love, by the way.


	4. Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Armin x Annie (Aruani)  
> Triggers: violence  
> Featuring dark!Armin and Annie as victim.

                “Aren’t you excited?”

                “Hm,” Armin answered dully, entering the underground vault where they had kept the captured titan shifter. Torches lit his way and the room they were lead to, casting shadows along the walls. He stepped closer to the crystal encasement and surveyed it silently, grimly.

                “So where did they say the crack was again, Moblit?” Hanji asked the man trailing at her heels. She stood next to Armin, both having been called to attend to the matter at hand. Hours ago one of the watchmen on guard had reported the appearance of a fault in the thick shield and had promptly called the brains of the Scouting Legion to inspect it.

                “Ah, right here.” Moblit approached Annie and pointed to a fissure in the crystal. Hanji followed him as he stepped out of the way and took note over the small defect before heading back towards the stairs.

                “That definitely wasn’t there before. I’ll go inform the commander of this new development. Armin, you stay here and see if it expands any,” the brunette ordered. She and Moblit exited then, the guards following them and taking their positions outside the door then, leaving Armin alone.

                With no one around the blond came closer to Annie, internally scoffing at the size of the crack. He knew it was definitely an improvement, but considering how strong the crystal was, he figured she wouldn’t be breaking out of there anytime soon. If that was what she was attempting, at least.

                “Huh, the great female type titan, Annie herself, trapped by her own doing and not even able to break free. Pathetic,” he muttered, eyes half closed.

                He sat down at the small table and leaned back, closing his eyes. Hanji wouldn’t be back for a while yet and he would see if there was any improvement every once in a while. After an hour of waiting, the fracture reached from top to bottom, though Annie still seemed unconscious.

                “What, you have the means to break out now and you’re still sleeping? What was the point of this if you’re barely trying?” he questioned roughly. “Here, let me help.”

                Grabbing the rifle placed next to him in case of emergency, he strode over to Annie’s encasement and struck the blunderbuss against the spot where the crack was at its widest. Now that the crystal was tearing itself apart, it was becoming weaker, and his strike effectively opened up the fracture wider. He gave a few more minor hits.

                “Just come out already!” he growled, hitting the rifle against the fissure again with all his strength. The force of his hit reverberated through the encasement, weakening it as a whole and causing a large slab of crystal to fall away, prompting him to step back.

                “There, that should be enough to wake you up,” he said, breathlessly. He sat back down, rifle still in hand, and waited. It didn’t take long for her to be shaken into consciousness, her ice blue eyes opening, and the remaining crystal slid to the ground around her.

                “A-armin?” she called weakly, falling to her knees.

                “Welcome back, princess,” he greeted sarcastically, standing the rifle up against the wall. He made his way over to the blonde, kicking a few of the smaller pieces of crystal out of his way as he did so. Standing on top of one of the larger pieces, he knelt down and smiled at her.

                “What happened, Annie? You used to be so strong, strong enough to leave the world completely. But now you’re lying at my feet. Your own strength defeated you.” He offered her a hand only to be declined, the blonde willing herself to stand up. Armin followed suit and looked at her.

                “Armin? Why are you looking at me like that again?” Annie asked quietly. She was dazed after waking up after so long but she was gaining awareness fast, especially of Armin’s speeches that seemed rather out of place to her. “I thought you’d be glad I had woken up. Not just for your missions, but for me. You haven’t cast me away, have you?”

                The strategist paused for a moment, feeling a tinge of regret over what he was planning after hearing her question. Sighing, Armin drew Annie closer to him, kissing her quickly before backing away.

                “You know I wouldn’t cast you out.”

                He grabbed the rifle from where he left it.

                “And please know I still love you with all my heart.”

                Nimble fingers made sure that the gun was loaded.

                “But I can’t let you get in our way again.”

                He aimed the barrel of the rifle at the blonde and fired.

                “Goodbye, princess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments:
> 
> "Fuuck, this is really dark."
> 
> Hanji has stated to not try and crack the crystal for fear it will kill Annie. I have kept this in mind but I figure it won’t be fatal if Annie started decaying the crystal on her own. As far as I can tell, titan armour seems to break off kind of like plaster, and I tried to copy that in some form.


	5. Longing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ship: Annie x Armin (Aruani)  
> Verse: Reincarnation AU

                When he was a child, he had dreams of a girl with a voice that could lull him to sleep. When he was in elementary school, he had nightmares of a girl trapped far away from him that he wanted to meet again. When he was in middle school, he wrote a story of how he had met the girl long ago and had fallen in love with her. When he reached high school, he knew he had to find the girl he dreamed of, because he knew she existed. And by the time he was in his junior year, he had started to lose hope that he would ever find her, because he could only break his heart over missing this girl for so long.

                When she was a child, her first word was 'Armin', and no one understood why, not even her. When she was in elementary school, she thought she saw a boy that looked familiar to her only to be cast aside by him and called insane. When she was in middle school, she sang of a blond boy that had the ability to keep her calm in the most dire of times at a talent show, and when asked, she stated that she did not know who he was. When she reached high school, she knew she had to forget about him for her own good. And by the time she was in her junior year, she had come to realise that he would never leave her mind.

                 The word 'nightmare' stems from the words 'night' and 'maere', maere meaning 'incubus'. When the word was coined, it was in the thought that an evil female spirit would suffocate sleepers, thus inducing tormenting dreams. This original description perfectly fits what Armin Arlert and Annie Leonhardt had experienced their entire lives at night. Both were tormented and suffocated by memories of each other, leaving them behind with only a sense of longing and emptiness. The only difference between the dictionary definition of 'nightmare' and their own nightmares was that they experienced them even in the waking day as they started to realise the details of their past lives.

                Armin knew a boy named Marco that had similar experiences as him in way of such memories. The two were good friends and the blond boy was unafraid to show Marco the story he had written not long ago. Recognising the familiarity in memories, the brunet related the story of how he had remembered someone very important to him just like Armin did. Though he was only now starting to get an idea of what their story of the past was, he already knew that he would never reunite with them. For Jean Kirschtein had been killed in an accident years before, and when Marco saw the newspaper clipping with the picture of the deceased, he knew what it meant immediately.

                A moment of silence, tears being forced back and a sob choked back, after Marco told Armin the story, and he has never repeated it since then. He has never uttered Jean's name since then. But instead he has put his hopes in Armin's case, and he wholly believed that his friend would someday find the girl that had comforted him in memory for so many years.

                "Yeah but how am I supposed to find him, Marco?" Armin had sighed, exasperated. It was not the first time they have discussed this matter over. The blond might have been losing hope, but Marco was far from finished, and he wouldn't be until there was a happy ending.

                "Maybe you can post something on the Internet. A lot of people have found each other online. Try posting up your story and some other details about her and maybe she'll respond."

                "I guess we can give it a try," Armin agreed reluctantly. Apprehension and fleeting hope drowned him when it came to this attempt, but he went through with the plan anyway.

                Annie's contacts were extremely limited when it came to sharing her memories. There was Reiner and Bertholdt, both ready to step to her side when needed, but she was reluctant. Its not that she found the untrustworthy, but it simply didn't seem beneficial for her to tell them. What good could they do her when they had never experienced the same longing?

                And so she suffered in silence, which wasn't exactly a problem to her; she was naturally introverted. In the end, she figured that if her and the boy she remembered were truly fated to be together, then they would meet somehow. Until then she would just wait it out.

                "Hey, Annie, come check this story out. This guy must really be something to post something like this. I can't figure out if he's just desparate for attention or he really means all this," Reiner called, shaking his head. Annie hit the pause button on her iPod in time to catch most of his speech and got up, expecting to get a good laugh over whatever shameful act this person had committed. Leaning over the tall boy's shoulder to get a good view of his laptop screen, she skimmed the lines of the post.

_I know it sounds crazy, I know more than you do probably, but I need to find her. I've written out our story with every detail possible, I've described her exactly as I remember her, so I don't know what else I can possibly offer you. I just need to know she's out there somewhere._

                Clamping her hands over her mouth, Annie turned away from Reiner and Bertholdt. The story that the person had included was exactly like Annie's, the only difference being the point of view. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself down a bit. So what if fate had brought them back together? How could she even be sure they'd like each other? Either way she had to at least try and see if this was the boy she had had dreams about, dreams that she needed to stop because she didn't think she could bear the heartbreak and longing for much longer.

                "Let me see that," she snapped, snatching the laptop from Reiner's hands. Sitting back in her spot where the other two couldn't see, she shot off a message to the boy and noted his contact information before finally letting Reiner have the laptop back.

                "Annie." The name rolled off his tongue perfectly, underlined with indreduality, joy, sorrow, and so many other emotions at their first meeting.

                "Armin." The name she stated so primly was tinged with relief and longing carefully held back.

                Hearts pounding from an intense emotion of love and ecstasy that perhaps can never be titled, Annie fell into his arms easily, and reluctance characterised their departure from one another's presence forever after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment I've gleaned from tags:
> 
> "# AWWWWWW, AA THATS GREAT!!!"
> 
> "#im gonne cry jfc #aruani #and then marco too eehegahghgh"
> 
> Yes, Marco was necessary *laughter*


End file.
